The Dark Lead
by Lowell Boston
Summary: Interstellar-lawyer Cameron Trek receives a dangerous tip - a dark lead, access to intelligence that could tip the scales of the oncoming K'tan war.
1. Default Chapter

**The Dark Lead**.   


**DreamWorld VI. A Call in the Night**   


The ringing began in his dreams, scratched the membrane of his consciousness, and fluttered his eyes opened from sleep. Cameron Trek   
woke to the sounds of a distant comm-call coming from his study in the next room over. Victoria's peaceful breathing next to him was a sign   
that she wasn't disturbed by the sound. The last thing he wanted was to wake her. Sleep was a commodity she hadn't allow herself in the past   
few days. As the assistant to the newly elected AiD Chief her duties kept her on watch constantly. After all, this was war. 

*Well, not quite,* thought Trek. *That depends on the call.* 

Silently, he slipped out of bed and put on his robe. He gave Vicki one last look, and resisted the urge to return to her side. His lover looked   
achingly beautiful in the porthole's starlight, especially in her Mardukian silk negligee. Cameron tied his belt, headed out the bedroom, and slide   
the door shut behind him. 

The call rang again. 

Stumbling through the dark, he made his way to his hardwood desk and activated his Scramble-unit. The call was picked up, and now any   
message received or sent would be highly encrypted. The lawyer hoped his eyes weren't too bloodshot for the retina check. 

[SCAN COMPLETE: Trek, Cameron. IS CLEARED FOR COMM-ACCESS] 

The message was flashed on the unit's wide screen only to be replaced by the image of a short, dark haired man with a wide face and a   
contagious smile. He was waving his hand back and forth in front of his nose. Trek crossed his arms. 

"You wavin' off a stinky, or just saying 'Hi'?" asked the lawyer. 

The man's eyes squinted into a more playful laugh. 

"A little from column A, and a little from Column B," he said. 

Trek sighed. 

"All right Waf'fic, what've ya got?" but the man shock his head. 

"No...waddda you got?" 

The lawyer's face tightened. "That's still your asking price?" 

"Uh-huh," he said rubbing his hands together in a lusty fashion. 

"A two months, all expense paid trip to the Everlasting Eves   
Pleasure Palace," recited the lawyer. 

"Say it again, bro-ther!" sang the short man. 

Trek rubbed his chin and said, more to himself, 

"Ishtar, Fin will have my head for this. I'm dealing pornography   
to save an empire." 

He looked back at Waf'fic. "You know you're nuts? You'll be without armed protection." 

"No, I'm creation's gift to group sex. Now show me the tickets!" 

Trek removed the Tic-chip from his top desk drawer and inserted it into the Comm-unit. 

"All right, it's transferring...now." 

Waf'fic looked down at another screen. His eyes went wide. 

"Hot damn! That's the stuff." 

"Tell me, is life in the Program really that bad?" asked Cameron. 

The 'Program' was the Archaen Witness Protection Program. Waf'fic Unabrona was once a big time con-man, perhaps one of the greatest,   
whose grift talents bordered on the genius. The list of empires he was wanted in was nearly half a mile long, and it was once rumored that he   
swindled the entire coffers of a Lesser Empire into his own bank account. The man was a legend in his field. 

Point in fact, his last sting involved an interstellar Mail-Order-Bride business to several empires. To the con-artist surprise it actually developed   
into a legitimate, and profitable business, regardless of the fact that many of his clients were illegal arms dealers in backwater Q-dexs. A fact Waf'fic   
choose to ignore until he discovered that most of his girls were being sold as slaves to the K'tan Empire. 

Showing a rare conscience, and a real set of morals, Waf'fic blew the whistle on the dealers, and turned evidence against them. It wasn't long   
before he had a price on his head, and a list of assassins to follow. That's when he turned to Trek, and the lawyer in turn placed him in the 'Program'.   
In return, Waf'fic was an indispensable wealth of information on the Galactic black-market, and the illegal operations of numerous empires. 

"I tell ya Cam, If I hear one more person say 'It's been real nice   
Talkin' wich ya' or... 'You want some marmalade with dem biscuits?'   
I'll shoot myself." 

Trek actually didn't know where Waf'fic was, that was the Program's doing. But through the AiD Pact's resource he was able to   
get his request through, and in turn have Waf'fic contact him. 

"You're breakin' my heart," said the lawyer. 

"You know how long it's been since I had sex with three or more   
women? Two years...TWO YEARS!... I'm dying out here!" 

"Sure you are," said Trek. Waf'fic frowned. "Yeah, what do   
you know law-boy. You re-marry yet?" 

Trek's face scrawled. "All right, I held up my end of the bargain, now it's your turn." 

Waf'fic nodded, his face drawing serious. 

"This is some pretty serious stuff you're asking for, Trek," said the grifter. 

Cameron knew that was true. In the AiD Pact's decision to strike at the NGN forces, reliable intelligence was need to find their   
'Center of Gravity', the source of their greatest strength. Trek saw that as their weapons supply, and decided upon himself to hunt   
down any leads revealing that source. 

"Have you seen the 'Net lately?" asked the Archaen.   
  
"Like I've got time. What, with my day planned with basket weaving,   
and nature hikes..." 

"Cut the bullshit Waf'fic, and spill!" fired the lawyer. But Trek could see the con-man was reluctant to talk, even on a secure line.   
Whatever information he had, it was hot. 

"All right...you want to look into the Korinthe Research Firm.   
They're the manufactures of the Striker Weapons series." 

Trek nodded. "Yeah, I know them. They're a leading weapons manu-   
facturer and big supplier for New Asgard, CDW, CIIS, Fab'Rini   
Federation and the RDD. They're a close competitor with Arrowsmith   
Systems Interstellar on Archada." 

"What you might not know is that the investors in many of those   
empires recently just maxed out on their investments. Their   
credits been stretched too far, and any request for additional   
goods was answered with a polite rejection letter." 

Trek rubbed his chin with a finger and thumb. "Sounds like KRF's in need of some serious new blood money." 

Waf'fic smiled "And they're rumored to have started selling arms to the UAC, who in turn have sold those weapons to a   
certain Ghoiite fraction." 

"Which one?" asked the lawyer with curious tone. 

"That I don't know. Hey I'm not tele-pathetic ya know." 

"That's telepathic." 

Trek smiled. In all the years he had know Waf'fic he still couldn't figured out the man's accent, or where he was originally from. 

"Whatever. The point I'm tryin' to make here is that the KRF have   
extensive internal records on all their client dealings. Both   
on... and off the shelf customers." 

"A paper trail. Still, that probably won't tell me much about the Ghoiites." 

"Cam...Cam, would I ever leave you high and dry?" 

"In a heart beat," quickly answered the lawyer. 

"Yeah...I guess that's probably true. But this time I came through," said Waf'fic. 

"I'm listening." 

"I've arranged a meeting with you and a disgruntled worker from   
KRF. Names Kern. Two 0'clock on the Blast Pan of Mokk City,   
T- Prime. Docking bay 21." 

Trek looked at his clock. "You gotta be kidding!, that's an hour from now!" 

The con-man glanced off screen as well. 

"Hey yeah, wadda you know. Ya better get going." said Waf'fic with mock surprise. "Meanwhile, I gotta go pack my toothbrush." 

"Thanks for nothin'," said the lawyer with sour grapes. "I hope you get the clap!" 

"Yeah, me too. Love and kisses." The con-man clicked off and the comm-screen faded to black. Trek sat in the dark thinking. 

*Leave it to Waf'fic to play it close to the vest. An hour   
doesn't give me much time. If I tell Vicki, or Fin they'll want   
to assemble a strike team, stake the place out, play it safe. By   
that time Kern could be gone...* 

He glance back at the clock.   
  
*...On the other hand, if I go alone it's a sure bet I'll get myself killed.* 

It was a dark lead, one where he didn't know what to expect. Trek did know that in the past few weeks Taarkhul Prime had been crawling with spies. NGN, and warring Ghoiite factions alike. As an Archaen planet side, he'd stick out like a sore thumb. The lawyer pulled out a bottle of Noe brandywine from his bottom drawer, and poured himself a shot. 

*Decisions...decisions...* he thought holding up the glass. 

His left, clone grafted arm arched. That was never a good premonition.   


______________________________________________________________________________________   



	2. The Blast Pan

**The Dark Lead**

**Taarkhul Prime, Mokk City. The Blast Pan**   
****   


The Auto-cab pulled up to the docking gate, and hovered. The Shiamiite driver turned around, and leaned over his seat. 

"Sure this is where you want to go, bro?" 

Trek looked around and through the windows of the cab. Cargo droids and lifters were covered with graffiti. Some were rusted out   
of commission, others had been stripped and gutted by worker-gangs. Mokk City, not exactly the jewel of the Empire. 

"I wish it weren't, but it is. How much?" The lawyer leveled the cabby a serious look. 

"I dunno. I'm takin' a pretty big risk drivin' you out here past   
curfew. Ya know... you don't look much like a Dock Inspector." 

And the cabby tried to make the Archaen's features out in the shadows of the cab. 

"That's the beauty of it. I'm the last guy they'd expect," said Trek, but the cabby wasn't buying it. 

"If you'd like I can show you my credentials," he added. 

"Yeah, I think I'd like that," answered the cabby. 

*Not the answer I was hoping for.* 

But the lawyer knew his bluff was up, so he switched to a different tactic. Reaching into his leather bomber jacket, a left over from his   
Fleet pilot days, he moved past the Torpedo Blaster in his shoulder holster, and pulled out his bill fold. 

"This should cover the fare...and your silence." 

He handed the man three Omnium T-bills. The Cabby looked over the currency. 

"I dunno. What if I got pulled over for breakin' curfew?" 

The lawyer pulled out three more bills. "That should cover your fine." 

The Shiamiite's eyes gleamed. 

Trek got out of the cab and watched the hover vehicle drive away. The lawyer reflected back on how his hasty departure hadn't give him   
much time for 'Field' work preparations. From this point on he'd have to improvise. With luck the cabby wouldn't see sell him out, but the lawyer   
had a feeling his Shiamiite driver would inform the closest paying Ghoiite Clan about his presence. At the most he had about fifteen to twenty   
minutes before any trouble arrived. He hoped the ferry would come before that. 

Trek walked through the gateway entrance. Immediately his nose picked up the slimy, brackish scent of the reservoir. He could see highlights   
of it's black form under the night's cloudless sky. Mokk City was an industrial town heavy into the production of ul'ek and holographic field projectors.   
Built on the edge of a deep canyon, a few centuries ago the Shiamiites had dammed the chasm and made it into a reservoir. A large cooling water supply   
was needed for their production needs. 

Over the decades, city officials turned a casual eye to the growing environmental concerns in favor of increased plant production. The water quality of   
the reservoir was now more than just questionable, and every so often more then one body would always wash up on it's rocky shores. Bodies dead before   
they entered the water. 

In the center of the reservoir stood Blast Pan Island. Originally a tall butte before the dam was built, it was now used as a lift site to launch huge cargo   
pods into orbit for shipment to all parts of the Tri-sector. Ferry tracks from numerous points along the reservoir's coast lead to the blast pan. Cargo ferries   
conducted on these mono-rails, fitted just below the surface of the waters, were user to carry ul'ek shipments and workers to and from the island. The   
undercurrents of the watershed were strong enough to suck down an entire cargo ship, and so the rail system was a necessity.   
  
Trek walked over to the station platform and rested on the support railing over looking the waters. Five kilometers away a white hot blast of light signaled   
the launch of another cargo-pod. The noise rolled like thunder. Trek watched the dart of light ascend into the night, and tighten his jacket against the chilly air.   
A quick glance over his shoulder showed the arrival of workers packed in the back of a hover-truck. They were Shiamiite with a few Golem among them.   
Jumping off the flatbed, they made their way over to the waiting station and the truck sped off. A few gave Trek curious glances, but the rest kept to themselves   
and broke into lively conversations. All had their curfew passes around their necks. 

Cameron looked out over the waters and made the distant lights of an approaching cargo ferry. He placed his left hand inside his jacket's pocket and   
slipped into his Sensor Glove. Almost immediately the audio pick-ups in the palm and fingers detected the approach of a man behind him. 

"Nice night, eh?" said the lawyer. 

Trek turned around. The man stopped, slightly surprised that the Archaen had heard his stealthed approach. He was Shiamiite, tall with his earlobes   
elongated by silver talisman, and etched with tattoos - A Ghoiite Clan sign. He wore a long trench coat; it was what was under the coat that had the   
lawyer worried. 

"Something stinks around here, and I don't mean the water," said the man. 

"Yeah, I had beans for dinner." Trek shrugged. "What are ya gonna do?" 

The man huffed with irritation. Trek smiled, his best wise-ass look. 

"You being smart with me...Archaen?" 

"Oh yeah, absolutely." 

The man huffed again, this time with more restraint. 

"All right asshole, let's be straight with each other..." 

The Ghoiite parted his coat revealing an ul'ek robe underneath. Trek got the message. Behind them the ferry approached and the workers lined   
up for boarding. 

"You've got five seconds to tell me what you're doing here before I toss your headless body into the soup." 

Trek nodded. "I'm here to meet somebody...out there." The Archaen ached his chin in the direction of the blast site. The Ghoiite tracked his gaze,   
and Trek folded his arms across his chest, slipped a hand under his jacket an onto the handle of his blaster. The Ghoiite shifted back. 

"Who?" he asked with narrowed eyes. Trek shrugged again. 

"Beats me. I'm just followin' orders." 

"Then I'll just come along to see." 

The ferry stopped and the workers began to file through. 

"You don't get out much, do you? asked the lawyer. 

The Ghoiite struck him across the face, knocking his head completely to the side. Trek wiped the blood from his split lip. He looked at the thug. 

"I let you have that probably because you thought I deserved it.   
Touch me again and I'll kill you." 

The Ghoiite tried to grin despite the look in the lawyer's eyes. Cameron began to move past him towards the ferry. 

"Hold it," said the Ghoiite. The Archaen stopped. 

"You must think I'm pretty stupid not to pick out that gun." 

He pushed aside Trek's jacket and removed his Torpedo Blaster. 

"Nice piece. Always wanted one." 

The tall man held the weapon in his hand, and waved the lawyer on with the muzzle. The ferry conductor was checking the worker's passes   
when he saw Trek approach followed by the Ghoiite holding the gun. 

"He's with me," said the thug. The elder conductor nodded and let them pass. Inside was a single isle with two rows of seats on either side.   
The workers took seats on the far end of the railboat. 

"Sit," said the Ghoiite, pointing to the first row of seats on the right. Trek sighed and placed both hands deep into his pant's pockets, and sat down.   
Unseen by the Ghoiite his right hand gathered up the half dozen Archaen Palomac coins he kept there. 

"Hands where I can see them!" he sneered. 

He pistol whipped the lawyer across the jaw. 

Trek threw the thug a murderous look, and slowly pulled out his hands and placed them on his knees. The tall gunman switched Trek's blaster to his   
left hand, and sat down next to him, leveling the business end at the lawyer. 

"Enjoy the ride while you can, Archaen. For you it's definitely going to be a one way trip."   


______________________________________________________________________   



	3. The Kelshran

**The Dark Lead**

**Taarkhul Prime, Mokk City. The Kelshran**   
  


The trip had been long and uneventful. The docking process even more so. The dozen or so workers seated at the far end of the   
cargo-ferry finally gathered to their feet and lined up to exit a side door. 

Trek watched the Shiamiite and Golem workers leave one by one, then grimaced slightly as the muzzle of his own gun dug into his ribs.   
The Ghoiite thug next to him leaned in and whispered. 

"No tricks, Archaen. Get up and exit first, followed by me." 

The Trek nodded his understanding with well acted fear. Rising to his full six foot, nine height, the Ghoiite stepped into the center isle, turned   
and watched his prisoner. With his hands still placed on his knees, Trek scooted over to the spot just occupied by the gunman before standing up.   
Making eye contact with the gunman, Trek raised his hands. Almost instantly the half dozen Palomac coins he had been concealing under his right   
hand fell to the floor in a cascade of noise. The sound of falling change; a universal noise. The Ghoiite's eyes locked to the floor in a searching gaze.   
His mistake. 

Instantly Trek slammed the edge of his hand on to the bony base of the Ghoiite's thumb and wrist. Pain lanced up the man's arm causing him to   
drop the lawyer's gun. Before the weapon hit the floor, the Archaen steeped in and smashed the elbow of his chopping arm into the underside of the   
Ghoiites nose with all his might. Cartilage, cracked and split, was drive deep into the man's soft brain, killing him instantly. The thug's eyes went wide   
as he dropped to the floor with spasmodic kicks. He was dead in three seconds. 

"Told ya I'd kill you." said Trek as he picked up his blaster. He glanced up, and instantly dropped into an expert shooting stance.   
The conductor was looking at him. 

"You going to give me any problems, pops?" asked the lawyer in a serious tone. The older man simply shook his head with a neutral expression. 

Trek relaxed. 

"Sorry about the mess. Keep the change." 

He nodded to the scattered Palomacs on the floor. The Archaen holstered his gun, put on his Sensor-glove, and walked outside the ferry door.   
The elder Shiamiite shuffled forward shaking his head with 'tisking' sounds. He picked up the loose change and looked at the chilling body of the   
Ghoiite with his dead eyes opened. Another body would find its grave in the reservoir.   


______________________________________________________________________   
  


Trek scanned the area of Docking Bay 21 with his Sensor-glove, this time with better results. A form was picked up on the edge of his range.   
A heart beat, a quick breathing pattern, and the sound of light footsteps. Someone was approaching, though oddly enough, he wasn't picking up   
any infra-red readings. 

*Probably a Thermal-cloak,* he thought to himself. 

Trek stood up behind the bails of raw Ul'ek he'd been hiding behind to get a better look. 

Yes, there, a silhouetted form in a dark robe. 

Trek waited until the figure was about in the middle of the docking bay before stepping out from behind his cover. The bay itself was an enormous   
structure with ceilings well over a hundred feet in height. Surprisingly, it was nearly empty. A thousand crate prints covered the floor created by the   
thick outline layer of sand dust. Whatever had been here had just recently been moved. 

The figure stopped and looked around now. Trek drew his blaster with his right hand, and while scanning the surrounding area with his left Sensor-   
glove he walked forward. He made it with in twenty feet of the figure before he was noticed. 

"Come no further, I'm armed." said a weary voice. Trek stopped, the figure had a small pistol. "Are you Vestis Trek?" 

The lawyer shook his head. "I'm not with the Omnet. I'm Archaen." 

"A 'Sin-Guardian!?" and this time Cameron could tell the voice was feminine, with a K'tan accent. 

"Um, no, I'm an Interstellar-lawyer actually." 

"WHAT!" 

The figure cast her hood down. She was definitely Human, and quite attractive. Trek nodded. 

"My firm's Mastersons, Ra'Jah and Trek out of DW6." 

The woman stared at him with dark blue eyes for several moments. 

"That lying, screwin' BASTARD!!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. 

"Hey, keep it down," said the lawyer as he scanned the area again with his glove in a full circle. For a brief second he thought he caught   
something on the scans outer edge. 

"I take it you're referring to Waf'fic?" He said over his shoulder. 

"Yes," said the woman with a clenched jaw and a venomous tone. 

"Then I also take it that you're Kern?" 

"Canessa Kern." and she began to look nervously around as well. "Look, I'm... I'm sorry to fly off the handle, it's just..." 

"You don't have to apologize to me about Waf'fic, I know the   
little bastard better than anybody. But if it will make you feel   
any better, I'm not exactly chopped kidney, Miss Kern. I'm a   
former Imperial Marine, and I've done some field work from   
time to time." 

"Wet work, Mr. Trek?" asked the K'tan using the covert slang for blood shed. She stepped closer, giving the lawyer a good hard look. 

Trek stopped his scan and looked directly at her. 

"Had to kill someone just to get here," he said with no pride in his voice. 

"Ishtar! Then you've been followed!" and the woman, turned and raced back in the direction she came. 

"Hey, wait!" Trek followed. 

She stopped by a small hatch panel in the floor and knelt to a knee. Withdrawing a small device from within her robe, she began inputting   
on a series of buttons. The hatchway opened. 

"Mind telling me what this is all about?" said the lawyer as he came to her side. 

"Pray you never find out, Archaen," said a sinister voice behind them. 

The two whirled with guns pointed. Suddenly, the chamber lights were powered up in a near blinding light. Trek's Sensor Glove picked up   
a room filled with forms, but it was several seconds before his eyes could adjust. The source of the voice moved closer. 

"You lead me on a most satisfying chase Mrs. Kern, but I'm afraid it is over now." 

The speaker stopped, and Trek's blood temperature dropped. There was no mistaking the black and silver robed form of a Kelshran Assassin   
of the K'tan Empire. Behind him stood twenty Ghoiite warriors. Their Ul'ek robes were formed into body armor and bladed weapons. 

"Kill them," said the assassin in a cold voice. 

The warriors charged. 

______________________________________________________________________   



	4. No Place like Home

**The Dark Lead**

**Taarkhul Prime, Mokk City. No Place like Home.**   


Canessa took aim at the closest charging Ghoiite warrior, but Trek's voice cut her off. 

"No! Down the hatch! NOW!" 

Kern threw him a troubled look. 

"Do it!" The K'tan dashed for the access chute. 

Twenty warriors were only ten meters away. Trek pointed his gun straight above his head and fired six successive shots. The Ghoiites paused in   
their charged, confused by such an inexplicable maneuver, until they gazed up and saw the shells slam into the steel girders of the ceiling one hundred   
feet above them. An ear splitting explosion shook the room. Trek jumped feet first down the hatch as three tons of steel fell crashing down on them.   
The Ghoiites hesitation cost them dearly. Half their number were crushed under the falling debris. 

The Kelshran Assassin glared with venomous eyes. The hatch way had been buried as well. 

"Remove that rubble, you maggots." said his icy cold voice. 

The Ghoiites still breathing on their feet did as he ordered. ul'ek was formed into digging tools as body parts and steel were thrown from the pile.   


______________________________________________________________________   
  


Trek fell into waist deep water and dove forward as an avalanche of steel and stone crashed behind him. He surfaced with a mouth full of brackish water,   
but was none too worse. Canessa threw his arm over her shoulder and helped him to his feet. 

"You all right?" she asked 

"Yeah, just bubbly," said the lawyer as he tried to knock the water out of his ears. 

"What the hell did you do up there?" she asked looking up to the debris choked chute with incredulous eyes. 

"I got lucky. Your Kelshran friend up there underestimated us.   
That won't happen again." 

"He's not my friend!" said Kern with undisguised hate. 

"If you've got a story to tell, I'm listening," said Trek. He emptied the water from his barrel then threw Canessa a look. She shook her head. 

"No, not here." 

Already they could hear the digging noises from above. Trek stood up under his own power and for the first time noticed his surroundings.   
It was a narrow tunnel running slightly down hill in front of him, and inclining steadily up behind. The odor was far from pleasant. 

"This way," she said. 

They marched down the tunnel in silence for about fifteen minutes until they came to a wide chamber. In the center was a man-made lagoon   
of deeper water, with a steel mesh catwalk running around its perimeter. Floating in the lagoon was a small, two person craft, a rusted submersible.   
Canessa hit another button on her palm device and the side doors of the craft opened. 

"Get in," she said 

"Hold on," added the lawyer 

Reaching behind his jacket to the small of his back, Trek removed an Archaen puck charge. He placed the explosive device on the underside of   
the catwalk nearest the tunnel entrance they just came through. Mounted to the steel on magnetic clamps, he set the motion-detector detonator for   
two meter radius, and then stepped back. The charge gave him a five second delay before activating. He was satisfied. 

"All right, let's go." 

The two secured themselves inside the craft, and within moments the small ship submerged below the brackish waters.   


______________________________________________________________________   


The sub dove deep into the open waters of the reservior. Trek looked around in the interior of the craft with doubtful eyes. 

"This thing safe?" he asked. Canessa glanced over at him. 

"It's better than swimming." 

Accepting that, he folded his arms across his chest. 

"So, where we going?" 

"My safe house. It'll take a while." 

"Care to spend it by telling me what the hell's goin' on, and why a Kelshran Assassin is after you?" 

Canessa gave him another look, this one more measuring. 

"What did Waf'fic tell you?" 

"He said you had access to KRF internal records, and that you knew   
what Ghoiite faction the UAC were selling weapons to." 

"Ghoiite faction?..." she said in a skeptical voice. 

"You... don't know anything about... a Ghoiite faction?" he said with fearful tones. 

"No! What the hell are you..." 

Both occupants suddenly froze. Something large and darker than the murky waters outside swam past their craft. Canessa cut her engines and   
the craft slowly powered down. Trek could feel them sinking into the deep. He threw her a look that spoke volumes. 

"I don't know what they are. I've never got a good look at them." 

"Them!" raised the lawyers voice. Canessa placed a finger to her lips. 

"Keep it down. They hunt by sound." 

The next ten minutes were spent in absolute paranoid silence. Finally, Canessa pointed through the canopy to a dull light just seen in the murky distance. 

"My safe house," she whispered. 

Slowly she brought the engines to life again, and pushed the craft ahead. Trek made out the rocky cliffs of the canyon wall, and a large cave lit by   
three strong lights. Canessa maneuvered the ship through the opening, and into a long tunnel. After a few twist and turns the K'tan raised the small sub   
to the surface of a subterranean cave whose rocky ceiling loomed ten meters over head. She powered down the craft. 

The two got out and Canessa lead the way down a tunnel illuminated by floating glow lamps. A visible force field was up ahead, blocking their way.   
The K'tan disabled it with a voice command allowing the two to pass through. They entered a wide chamber of machine-cut stone, and a single throw carpet.   
Laundry was thrown about the floor, along with books-pads, computers board, tools and empty packs of food rations. 

"No place like home, huh?" said Trek as he kicked aside an empty bottle of Fanjaki Fighting Cactus liquor. 

Canessa sat down at a makeshift computer terminal and initiated the Mainframe. Trek stepped closer and looked over her shoulder. It didn't take long for   
him to realize that she had all the necessary components to hack into the T-Prime Informational Network, and from there into the Omnet's as well. The Archaen   
whistled at the set up, he was impressed. He looked back at Canessa. Till now he had been patient, conversation in the sub didn't seem like a good idea. 

"All right, so you don't know anything about the Ghoiite faction.   
So why did Waf'fic arrange this meeting?" 

"He said you were someone looking for the internal records of a   
KRF weapons sale to the UAC. Here..." 

She handed the lawyer a data crystal. Trek accepted the rod, but her words placed him deeper in thought. 

"Did the UAC specify a particular Q-dex for the weapons to work in?" 

"Yes, off hand I don't remember which, but It's in the record. I   
can say though that they, oddly enough, were 'not' for the RDD,   
Thras Divas, or the Archaen Empires." 

Trek stroked his chin. 

"That is odd." 

"There's more." Canessa punched up another screen. 

"Waf'fic said you'd be interested in this." 

The Archaen's heart skipped a beat as he looked at the screen. 

"Mother of Ishtar... When did this happen?" 

"About a month ago." 

Never before had the lawyer felt the need for a strong drink. He sat down and looked at Kern. 

"This is why the Kelshran Assassin was after you." 

"After us, now." she said with a heavy tone. 

"Mrs. Kern, just... who the hell are you?" 

The K'tan drew silent at that. It was several moments before she spoke. 

"Once, I was someone very happy... " 

She glanced up at the lawyer. 

"My husband and I used to work for the KRF as research analysts.   
I'm from the K'tan Empire, and Jarred, my husband, was Archaen.   
Ex-patriots, both of us. Three...three weeks ago we came across   
that information through an internal memo that was mis-sent tous." 

She arced her chin at the screen. 

"Jarred got curious, looked into and obtained that   
information in the crystal that you're holding." 

Trek tighten his grip. 

"Where's your husband now, Mrs. Kern?" 

"He's dead." And she looked at him with defiant eyes. 

"The Kelshran?" he asked 

"Yes," she whispered, and spat on the floor. Another uneasy silence settled in. 

"I'm sorry Canessa." said Cameron. The K'tan nodded and looked away. Trek looked back to the monitor. 

"What's up with your screen?" 

"What?!" She snapped back and visibly gasped. 

"Shit! NO! No! No!... " 

Her fingers repeatedly stabbed the consoles 'Abort' button, but the on screen information began to corrupt into negative images and swirls of static. 

"What's wrong?" asked Trek in a worried tone. 

"It's the assassin, he's found my back door. Damn it, no!" 

But no explanation was needed. Trek knew the result of a Worm-virus when he saw one. The database was destroyed in seconds.   
  


______________________________________________________________________   



	5. The Program

**The Dark Lead**

**Taarkhul Prime, Mokk City. The Program**   


Canessa buried her face in her hands and began to sob, Trek watched her, struggling with his own emotions for several moments,   
before placing a consoling hand on her shoulder. 

"Don't!" she flinched, and Trek stepped back. "Just...don't." 

The K'tan simply sat there and watched the screen with numbed eyes and tearing cheeks. The lawyer placed his hands in his now empty   
pockets and listened to the woman silently cry. Finally, she seemed to calm herself and looked back at the Archaen. 

"I was in the process of backing up my data when Waf'fic contacted   
me and arranged this meeting with you." 

She glanced back at the monitor. 

"I was only about one quarter of the way done. I've lost   
everything, Mr. Trek. Every letter...every holo-correspondent   
clip my husband ever sent to me... gone... poof!" 

and she mimed the last word with her hands, then whispered. 

"Taken by the assassin. I've nothing left now. My husband is truly gone." 

She looked directly at the lawyer, or through him, Trek couldn't tell, then reached into her robe and withdrew another Data-crystal. 

"Here." Cameron gave her a questioning look. 

"I'm not stupid, Mr. Trek. This is the back up for the data I just showed you." 

She placed it in his hand. "You made a copy before meeting me?" said the Lawyer. A smile came over her face, the first one he'd seen from her. 

"Wouldn't you?" 

"Mrs. Kern, I could kiss you!" 

But her smile tighten and she looked down. 

"You... you better go now, Mr. Trek. You can take the sub back to   
the surface. I have to stay and destroy this place." 

Cameron started to protest, but Canessa cut him off with a wave of her hand. 

"Don't worry, I have another way out." 

But the Lawyer's look lingered on her with genuine worry and concern. 

"You sure you'll be okay?" 

"I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself," she said with her best game face. Nonetheless, Trek's gaze lingered. Finally, he reached into his jacket,   
pulled out his bill fold, removed one of his Page-cards and handed it to her. 

"Mrs. Kern, sometimes when a person looses everything, that's a   
good place for a beginning." 

Canessa stood up and looked at the card. 

"I can see to it that you are placed into the Archaen Witness   
Protection Program. No more running, no more hiding. The   
Kelshran will never find you." 

"I wish I could believe that," she said. "Then call me," replied the lawyer. 

Canessa nodded and took the card. "Why are you doing this?" she asked with open suspicion. Trek nearly laughed. 

"Mrs. Kern, if the information in this Crystal proves true, you   
may have just saved this entire section of the Galaxy. I think   
protecting you is the least we can do." 

Canessa shook her head. 

"That's not why I did this." She stepped closer. 

"Waf'fic said he'd send me someone who could do the job." 

"...Do the job?" said Trek in a worried voice. 

"I want you to kill the Kelshran, Mr. Trek." 

"Me?!" He was astonished. 

Canessa nodded. 

"He'll be coming after you eventually. At this point it's either   
you... or him." 

Trek tried not to voice all the choice words he had for Waf'fic. He calmed himself and looked at her. 

"No choice then?" 

"You could always run, but you don't strike me as that kind of man." 

Trek crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm not." 

"Then you'll do it!" 

*Or die trying,* he thought. He gave a curt nod, and Canessa smiled again, this one better than before. 

"Thank you Mr. Trek!" She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. 

"I'll think about your offer, and call you in a couple of days." 

Trek could still feel the warmth of her kiss on his cool cheek. 

"Take care of yourself, Mrs. Kern," he said 

Canessa turned and walked down a narrow corridor. Glow-lamps winked off behind her until she was lost in the darkness.   


______________________________________________________________________   
  


The sub bobbed to the surface three miles from the docking gate where Trek first boarded the cargo-ferry. The lawyer idled the craft to a   
rocky shore and ran it aground. Leaving the canopy open, he set the controls for dive and shoved the craft off with a strong leg push. 

The Archaen tighten his jacket. The sun was just coming up, and storm birds where already diving through the rose colored sky. Taking a   
moment to get his bearing, he began to walk. It was a full hours hike to the meeting point, and Victoria was there waiting for him, standing next   
to a hovering gravity-car along with half a dozen Imperial Marines. Her expression was far from pleasant. Trek tried to smile. 

"I take it you got my note," he began with a sheepish grin. She held up the item in question. 

"Yes, your note!" she shouted, and marched towards him until she was fully in his face. 

"What possessed you to run off in the middle of the night on some   
suicide mission without telling me?!" 

Trek tried to swallow the knot of tension in his throat. 

"I didn't want to wake you. You needed the sleep." 

"I need you more, you moron!!" and she wrapped her arms around his waist and tightly hugged him. 

"Are you all right?" she whispered as she felt his arms encircle her shoulders. 

"I feel like shit," said the lawyer in an exhausted voice. 

"You smell worse," said Vicki. Trek nodded. He was sure every pore on his body was filled with brackish slime. 

"Right, shower for me when we get home. Let's go." 

Vicki hand signaled the Marines with her Sensor Glove and the Archaen Sergeant snapped a crisp salute before ordering the troops back into their   
Hover carrier tweet meters away. The couple walked back to the car. 

"What happened out there?" asked Victoria as Trek climbed into the passenger side, but the lawyer shook his head. 

"No, not here. I'll explain everything when we get back to DreamWorld." 

Vicki got in the driver's side and took the controls. The Craft hovered higher off the ground and headed in the direction of the municipal star-port   
followed closely by the troop carrier. They rode in silence for a while. 

"Cam... it was strange waking up and not finding you this morning.   
I didn't like it." 

She pulled into the main flyway and accelerate. 

"I guess what I'm trying to say is...you don't really know what to   
expect from one day to the next with this war coming on...   
like... how much time we have together." 

She took a serious breath, and said,   
  
"Cam, I'd like us to think about..." 

But a loud snore cut through the air, and Victoria looked over and saw the lawyer was fast asleep with his mouth half way opened. The AiD Commander   
smiled to herself, and continued to drive. She sighed, wondering what it was like to sleep without a care in the world.   



End file.
